This was written for Haley (hmweasley), for the Ongoing Gift Tag 2019 and the prompts Padma/Cho hurt/comfort. I hope you like this, Haley (even though I think I've interpreted the prompt wrong… oops)!

Also, this is a little AU, as Parvati died in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, nothing belongs to me (as always). I don't make any money out of this story.

.:.

Word count (without the A/N): 1,584 words

Haunted Girl: Padma Patil and Cho Chang

Padma stared at the grave in front of her. She had always told her sister not to act in foolish bravery (not to act too Gryffindor), but she had. And now she was there, laying underground in her grave.

There weren't a lot of people there with her. Most were former Ravenclaws and former Gryffindors, and each came to pay their respects to her twin. She was grateful for it and Parvati deserved it, but she wished some of them would actually stand by her side and comfort her. But they didn't; she had snapped at the last person who had tried to put a hand on her shoulder, and it hadn't been just anyone. It had been her father.

She remembered the last time she had spoken to her sister. It was before the Battle, and she had begged her to come back to her because she wasn't as brave as her and she wouldn't be able to make it without her.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She wished she could stop thinking altogether, and…

"Padma?" a gentle voice called her name.

She didn't turn towards the girl, didn't even move a finger and the other could have been discouraged by her lack of reaction, but she continued, "The funeral's over."

She frowned. Had it really been so quick? Her parents hadn't said anything, and she hadn't either. Actually, she didn't remember anyone but the official speaking.

"You've been asked if you wanted to speak," the same voice continued. "You didn't react, and your parents refused. It was probably too painful, and I think everyone can understand that."

She finally turned towards the young woman (and had the chance to see that they were the only ones left in the cemetery) and she studied her tired features closely. Her left cheek was scarred, and there were black bags under her eyes, but that didn't take anything away from her beauty. Perhaps it had to do with her beautiful, lustrous black hair hanging down her back in a low ponytail. Or with that fire in her dark eyes. All Padma knew was that suddenly, for the first time in her life, she envied Cho Chang.

"How do you do it?" she asked, and her voice echoed through the almost empty graveyard.

"How do I do what?

"How do you keep going? I mean, even after Cedric was gone, you just… you just… kept going, you never cried, and… I don't think I can do that."

Cho stayed silent for a long time, considering her words, and then she stared at the grave and smiled bitterly.

"Of course I cried," she replied. "I cried all the time, but I hid it well so no one saw."

Padma looked at the other woman and felt a tear rolling down her cheek. She wiped it away hurriedly and Cho intervened.

"Don't. Don't care about people might think of you, Padma. I did, and it almost ruined me because… I think crying is good for someone who's just lost someone they loved. I kept all my feelings to myself when Cedric died, and I still do, in a way, and it destroyed me from the inside. So don't make the same mistakes I did. You can cry, you can scream, you can do whatever you want, just… let it out."

The grieving girl stared at her companion and saw something over than raw honesty in her eyes. It seemed like she was calling for help (on the funeral of her sister) and it should have angried her, but instead she found herself wrapping her arms around the other girl.

Cho seemed surprised for a moment, but then she hugged her back tightly and smoothed her hair a little.

"Thanks," they both whispered when they pulled away from each other.

Padma stared hard at the grave again and she didn't hear Cho leave, but when she turned, the other girl wasn't here anymore.

She had tried (really tried) to follow Cho's advice, but here she was at the Leaky Cauldron, trying (and utterly failing) to get drunk to forget. She didn't notice the door opening behind her, slouched as she was over her drink.

She did notice, however, when someone put their hand on her shoulder, and she reacted before she could even think about it. She grabbed her wand, which had been placed on her knees, and turned around, holding it high before her.

Her eyes widened when she saw who was behind her.

"Cho…" she blurted out very ungracefully. "I'm - I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to -"

"It's quite alright," she reassured her and smiled a little. "Can I sit here?" she asked then, pointing to the seat in front of her.

Padma just nodded, and Cho Chang walked to her seat, her blue dress fanning over her legs, and she sat down. She put her hands flat on the table, and the grieving girl saw something that definitely wasn't there the last time she had seen her.

"You're married?" she exclaimed and tried to force a little smile on her chapped lips.

"Engaged, actually," Cho answered brightly. "But we'll be married in a few weeks, so you can say that."

"I'm happy for you. I really am."

And truly, the smile on her lips wasn't as dull as it was before. Her companion grinned back and she pushed a loose strand of lustrous black hair behind her ear.

"What happened to you these last few months, Padma?" she asked more seriously.

"Nothing important, really. I'm just wandering around my house, or…"

"Or you're here, trying to get drunk," Cho completed.

Padma's mouth fell agape and she stared at the other girl. "What- How-" she stuttered.

"Listen, I get that you want to forget, Padma, but this won't lead you anywhere. Do your parents do this?"

She shook her head and lowered her eyes. She couldn't help but feel ashamed by her actions. Maybe she shouldn't, she told herself. Maybe she should just admit that she'd been drinking here at least three times a week.

"Then follow their example," Cho continued.

"Yeah? They're fighting all the time, because my mother can't get over the fact that our father let us fight in that damn battle. So should I really follow their lead?"

Cho stayed silent and stared at her. "No," she finally answered quietly.

"I've tried, I've really tried to follow your advice, but it didn't change a thing…"

"Have you tried to stay in contact with your friends?" Cho asked.

Padma shook her head again and fell silent. She hadn't tried to contact any of them in the past few months, and not one had written to her. She could understand them, really. No one wanted to be the friend of the haunted girl.

"I can be your friend then," her companion encouraged and put a hand over hers.

This was certainly an unexpected offer, but the gentleness (or was it pity?) in her voice made her pull back slightly.

"You don't want help," Cho finally understood and sat straighter on the wooden chair. "You don't want to talk to someone about this. You don't want to feel better."

Padma stared at the other girl and there was such resignation in her eyes that Cho's eyebrows rose.

"I don't want her to be gone," Padma confessed, whispering so low that she wasn't sure the other heard her.

She kept her eyes low until her friend (no, not her friend… she didn't want her to be her friend) spoke up again, a smile in her voice, "Do you remember the Yule Ball in our fourth year?"

Padma frowned and nodded, and Cho continued, "I remember you and Parvati, always side by side, even after you left Harry and Ron! I remember you dancing all night and searching for partners together, and I remember the bright smile you both had. Do you remember that too?"

A little smile had crept on her face as she remembered that night. It had truly been one of the most wonderful moments in her life, and it was true… They had spent their night laughing together after they had left their partners behind, and they had danced and the Great Hall had rung with their laughter, and…

She realized then that she was grinning, and stared at Cho, who looked perhaps a little satisfied with herself.

"See?" her friend (she was willing to call her that now) laughed. "Remembering her doesn't necessarily have to mean that you have to feel sad all the time."

Padma nodded once and smiled a little. She put down her drink and stood up.

"Thank you, Cho," she said honestly, one of her hands hovering over her friend's. "Really. I think that helped a lot."

"I'm glad I helped," Cho smiled back.

She stood up as well, and they both got out of the Leaky Cauldron together. Padma stopped outside the pub and looked a little hesitant, but Cho pointed a young man standing not so far from them, who looked at her adoringly, and introduced him, "This is Michael Evans, my fiancé. Perhaps you'd like to come with us and share a drink?"

She hesitated once more, looked down at her messy clothes and her messy hair, but then she decided to challenge herself a little and accept her friend's offer.

And she spent the best afternoon she had in a long, long while, so really, she couldn't say she regretted it in the least.